By Brigid M Darling

The Black Swallowtail butterfly is a common butterfly mostly found in meadows, fields, roadsides, backyards, pastures, gardens, and general open spaces throughout North America and Southern Canada. They are known for their colorful caterpillar that can mostly be found on dill or parsley or other related plants.

The young larva (caterpillar stage) is mostly brownish black with a white saddle. Older larvae are green with each segment crossed by a black band containing small round yellow spots. This helps conceal them among the foliage. As larva, they can be found near the small flowers of the parsley or dill plants. They prefer eating flowers or young seeds.

Once they reach adulthood Black Swallowtails have a black body with yellow spots along the side. Their wings are black with two bands of yellow markings running down them. They can range between 2.75 to 3.5 inches in width and from 3 to 3.5 inches in length.

Male Black Swallowtails are agile and strong fliers. They often are observed dashing along at a rapid clip only a few feet above ground. Like other patrolling butterfly species, Black Swallowtails are drawn to land prominences such as hilltops where they actively search out receptive females.

Written fall 2000, as a service learning project for Dr. Gary Coté's Biology 102 class at Radford University. Copyright Pathways for Radford.